If you're a nervous flyer, you'll know what it feels like when you're heading off on holiday. Palms sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy. There's possibly vomit on your sweater already, mom's spaghetti?
Well anyway, people always tell you it's fine. The pilot knows what they're doing. Plus, it's in their best interest to get you to your destination safely. If you're going down, so are they. They're absolute professionals.
Sadly, there's always one who ruins everything.
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Slovakian airline pilot Miroslav Gronych, 37, passed out in the cockpit of his plane after drinking a bottle of vodka before he was due to fly. He's now been jailed for eight months.
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His blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit. Which, to be fair, after a bottle of vodka seems quite low.
According to Sky News, Gronych, who has two young children, pleaded guilty to being in care and control of an aircraft while under the influence of alcohol.
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Apparently, he was slurring his words and staggering about when he got on the Sunwing Airlines plane. It was scheduled to fly from Calgary in Canada to Cancun, Mexico, on New Year's Eve. However, he was escorted off after he passed out.
His defence lawyer claimed that Gronych had taken a 'couple of shots of vodka' and 'a Tylenol' the night before the flight as he thought he was 'coming down with a cold'.
However, after he overslept the next morning, 'he drank the rest of the bottle of vodka and left for the flight'.
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When police arrived at the scene, they found his pilot's wings were pinned upside down. Apparently, they could also smell alcohol on his breath and he couldn't stand up straight.
He's been banned from flying for a year after he's released from prison and has, of course, lost his job. He's also been ordered to leave Canada once he's served his sentence.
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Prosecutor Rosalind Greenwood said: "It is a clear message to pilots that if you drink alcohol and you fly a plane, you're going to be met with a period of incarceration."
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She added: "Don't fly drunk. It's pretty simple."
Apparently Gronych has been in treatment for alcoholism since the incident took place and has been 'thoroughly shamed'.
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